BBC points its lens at St. Augustine

Florida is more than just Mickey Mouse

LAUREN SONISStaff Writer

Published Tuesday, July 31, 2001

Four Zenith Productions film crew members stood on top of the fourth floor balcony of the Casa Monica Hotel Monday morning, capturing panoramic images for a British Broadcasting Corporation series premiering in October.

Their goal is to enlighten English viewers that there is more to Florida than Disney World.

''Awesome,'' said director of camera management Jon Richards as he scanned the St. Augustine skyline for the first time.

The city is a part of ''A House in Florida,'' a 24-episode series airing once or twice a week, centering on a British couple owning property in Conch Key.

From there, the crew filmed sights across Florida linking areas through food, English visitors, language, events, legal aspects and history.

Zenith Productions filmed ''A House in France,'' ''A House in Tuscany,'' ''A House in the Riviera'' and other places around the world where former British residents owned property.

A year after the shooting of ''A House in Spain,'' Jackson visited the country for a ''catch-up'' program to show how the area had changed.

Florida is also a possible return destination for the program.

While here, Jackson and other crew members taped shots of the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, the Casa Monica Hotel, St. George Street, the Columbia Restaurant and the Spanish Quarter Museum, among other things.

A few of the members agreed that speaking with Brad Taylor-Hicks, museum guide for the Spanish Quarter, was one of the highlights.

''We see a lot of film crews coming in and out of the Spanish Quarter,'' Taylor-Hicks said. ''I thought it was very professional.

''It was one of the best interviews that I've had.''

Formerly of Chingford, England, an area on the outskirts of London, Taylor-Hicks said he agreed that many English tend to think mostly of Orlando when they think of Florida.

''It's nice to see English TV being interested in what's going on out here,'' he said. ''I think it's great that it shows that Florida is more than just Disney.''

Some of the film crew said they were even surprised by what they found in the city.

''I guess we didn't realize how different St. Augustine was from the rest of urban America,'' said Alan Ravenscroft, executive producer and presenter. ''I think we've enjoyed the very strong connection with Europe here.''

Though said to be enjoyable, filming Florida wasn't always easy.

The crew said that one of the most difficult parts of the trip was filming a canoeing scene from the top of a bridge.

Not eating too much was another tough project, Ravenscroft said laughing.

After a few more shots in the nation's oldest city, the crew packed-up their belongings and headed for the plane that would take them back to Europe.

''I thought they did a very professional job,'' said Jay Humphreys, director of publicity for the St Johns County Visitors and Convention Bureau. ''Most of them had never been to St. Augustine.''